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Spanish Flu
Over two million Canadians had the Spanish flu. Its initial outbreak was in Kansas but it didn’t receive much media attention until it moved all the way from France to Spain. It is stated that the virus formed by overcrowding in very unsanitary conditions, then it just spreads like any other virus. It spreaded through Western Europe, then though many cities in main transportation lines. -
Jazz Age begins
The jazz age sprang to life with the introduction of radio and the birth of jazz music. Teenagers and young adults loved this change in life. The known spot in the world for jazz was in New Orleans. Many people loved and appreciated this because it gave them a break from life with WWI just ending and they could put their minds on something else more positive. Montreal made some of the best-known names in jazz: Oscar Peterson, Myron Sutton, and Oliver Jones. -
Winnipeg General Strike
The main goal of the Winnipeg general strike was to improve working conditions for many workers such as, factory workers, store workers, transit workers, and even policemen and firemen. Approximately 30,000 Canadian workers went on strike. This strike took place on May 15th, 1919 and it lasted just over a month. Many strikers were also arrested or injured, and two people were actually killed in the street riots -
Bloody Saturday
Bloody Saturday was the mark of the end of the Winnipeg General Strike. Police officers ran into massive riot crowds with their horses, injuring 30 people and killing two. Many people protested on Bloody Saturday to fight against the arrest of protest leaders. On June 25th, the central strike committee decided to end the strike, and strikers were made to get back to work but some places wouldn't re-hire their workers. -
Prohibition
Prohibition was implemented by the Canadian Government primarily to ban the consumption of alcohol (In every province but Quebec) because of the belief that drinking was responsible for many negative aspects of society. Prohibition was primarily made a law in Prince Edward Island, but then one by one other provinces joined. Alcohol couldn't be purchased in Canada but could be legally produced there. -
William Lyon Election
William Lyon Mackenzie King was a very significant political figure in this time of change in Canada. He was born in Kitchener, Ontario on December 17th, 1874. He was the prime minister of Canada for three periods of time: 1921-1926, 1926-1930, 1935-1948. He is Canada's longest-serving prime minister, and he was the leader of the Liberal Party from 1919-1948. He led Canada through industrialization, the depression, and WWI. -
Insulin
Up until the 20th century, diabetes was a fatal disease. But luckily for a group of Canadian researchers: Fredrick Banting, Charles Herbert, John J.R. Macleod, and James Bertram. They were a team working out of the University of Toronto trying to find a cure for Diabetes. In 1923, Banting and Macleod received the Nobel Prize for one of the most important, breakthroughs in medical history. The cure was discovered when they succeeded in isolating and purifying insulin. -
Chinese Exclusion act
In 1923, the Government of Canada revoked the head tax, a big fee charged to Chinese people coming into Canada. This was then replaced with the Chinese Immigration Act, which basically stopped all Chinese immigration into Canada from China. Over the next 24 years, only 44 Chinese migrants got into the country. “immigrants belonging to any race deemed unsuited to the climate or requirements of Canada,” is a common phrase people would say about Chinese immigrants. -
The Persons Case
The Persons Case was a very significant event in women's History regarding their rights. This case was started by The Famous 5, who were a group of women activists. The decision finally legally recognized women as "Real people" or "Persons." Now, women could no longer be denied rights that go along with the law. Women could now work for more rights through the House of Commons and the Senate. The Famous 5 changed the law. -
Talkies
Talkies were a great, new form of entertainment for people in the 1920s. Commercialization of these cinemas took place in the mid to late 1920s. Sounds would play with a series of images displayed on a screen, there would be known as shorts. Charlie Chaplin was a very loved silent film artist who has great dramatic skills. the first talkie was created in New York and it was called The Jazz Singer, by Al Jolson. -
Black Tuesday
Black Tuesday occurred on Tuesday, October 29th, 1929. This is the day when the stock market fell 50% in value. The stock market lost 14 billion dollars and a record-breaking 12.8 million shares were sold. "The biggest crash ever recorded," said John Maynard Keynes. The cause of this day was too much credit buying, too much credit buying of stocks, and the economic growth was slowing down. -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was a worldwide economic affair that lasted around a decade, starting in 1929. It was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by anyone in the world. Unfortunately, Canada was hit the hardest by this downfall because of their heavy dependence on raw materials and farm exports. the western, rural parts of Canada were hit the worst. -
Five Cent Speech
The opposition demanded that Mackenzie King's liberal government should give money to the provincial Conservative governments in Canada. By 1930, many Canadians were unemployed because of the Depression, hundreds of thousands of Canadians were out of work but King didn't do anything about it because he believed the unemployment problems were seasonal. The main topic of the speech was that king wasn't going to give unemployment benefits. -
New Deal
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 'New Deal' aimed at trying to recover all of the economic issues in Canada, and getting people back to work despite any other issues going on. Over the next eight years, the government made some experiments, projects, and programs such as the WPA, CCC, SEC and TVA to help people out. The main goal was to provide people with jobs and relief to those who were suffering from the Great Depression. -
Relief
The Federal Emergency Relief Act was the government's first action to fight the results of the Depression. This act saved 500 million dollars to provide for the people who need it and the unemployed. It also helped give food to people who needed it, but it only met about half of anybody's nutritional needs, but it was better than nothing. -
On To Ottawa Trek
in 1935, thousands of angry, unemployed left their federal relief camps in British Columbia and boarded trail boxcars and wanted to take their demand for work directly to Ottawa. unfortunately, when the 2000 protesters reached Regina, they were stopped and arrested, which led to the violent Regina riot. These men were very determined to get what they wanted so these riots were nasty.